Oldboy Remake Is Old News
11 November 2009
In news that had delighted some of the more cynical movie fans across the globe, cult Korean film Oldboy will NOT be remade by Steven Spielberg and Will Smith. Smith and Spielberg have gone on record as stating that they're massive fans of the Park Chan-wook helmed original and had long considered committing to a big budget Hollywood remake. Fans had began to clog the intertubes with blogs and posts about how the original should remain unblemished by the touch of the Hollywood millionaires. It seems as the masses have got their wishes as Dreamworks has reportedly pulled by plug because of squabbling with their investor partners Mandate. To me, this is disappointing news. Granted, the foreign hits that Hollywood tries to remake rarely come close to being as good as the original but it's still worth seeing nonetheless. It's not like Spielberg was going to destroy all the prints of the original Oldboy while doing the remake, or anything…
-John Balfe
Your Comments
th3spacecadet
While it's a valid point that the original would still be in existence even if it was remade, it's a certain pont of, dare I say it, pride, to be able to have a conversation with someone about a film and a) know that you're talking about the same actual film and b) not have them look at you with mixed horror and disinterest as you try to explain that if they've only seen the Hollywood remake of 'Ring' then they really don't have a clue. In my opinion, remakes of films like this always dumb them down and basically tarnish the whole idea of the original. Anyone interested in seeing a film should invest the energy in hunting down the original and best, and not rely on Hollywood to shove their lowest-common-denominator efforts in their faces.
Posted 11/11/2009 12:30:31
Cynic
Phew, I couldn't see anyone from Hollywood even start to come near the intensity and darkness, yet compassion of the original. Difficult for them to even go near to some of the subject matter. Lady Vengeance or sympathy for Mr. Vengeance I can see getting remade but not Oldboy. Actually Spielberg could handle JSA(Joint Security Area) quiet well, if he had to take on a Park film, much more his speed.
Posted 11/11/2009 22:25:19
Pandora
I am one of the people delighted by this news. No matter how many times I tried to imagine how they'd make it work I couldn't, especially considering all the points made by th3spacecadet of what they do to these films to appease certain audience members.
Posted 12/11/2009 00:40:21
th3spacecadet
Just to clarify - OldBoy, Mr Vengeance and Lady Vengeance are indeed Korean. Ring (or Ringu) is Japanese. It's in Japanese, set in Japasn, director Japanese.
Posted 12/11/2009 14:48:02
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